248 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



empty the entire digestive tract. During the three weeks or more that 

 the beetles were in my possession, I did not notice a single copulation, 

 nor did I get an egg mass. Observations outdoors were to the same 

 effect ; not a copulation ; not an egg-mass. On the new shoots put out 

 by the trees early in August^ there are now — the 13th — plenty of beetles, 

 but neither eggs nor larvae. When I observed this disposition to cease 

 feeding, I dissected a number of the beetles, and in all of them I found 

 the sexual structures undeveloped. The ovaries were minute, and could 

 only be found by securing the large vagina to which they were attached. 

 In the male it was almost impossible to get the testes entire, as they were 

 mere empty tubules, which tore with the slightest strain. A number of 

 newly-hatched beetles were secured and dissected, with the same results. 

 Then a collection was made, selecting those with fully distended abdo- 

 men. In none was there more than a slight development of the ovaries, 

 while in all, the digestive tract was gorged with food, and tat globules and 

 masses were forming. I observed also that on the leaves some beetles 

 had discharged long strings of excrement, and they were beginning to 

 appear on the windows of my laboratory and in my house. I accepted 

 this as an indication of a desire for retirement, and as I knew that the 

 bell tower on the main college building was a favourite resort, -I sent my 

 assistant to investigate it, August 8. He brought back a vial tilled with 

 beetles, and reported that in a rubbish heap on the floor, covered by an 

 old board, the beetles were to be found in large numbers. The bell 

 tower was dark enough to make the use of a lantern necessary, and as 

 there was no other explanation of their presence there in such large num- 

 bers, I feel justified in assuming that these beetles were in winter quarters. 

 A number of these specimens were dissected, and in all of them the most 

 prominent feature was the great mass of fatty tissue stored in the abdomi- 

 nal cavity. In all of them the entire digestive tract was free from food 

 or excreta, and in all, the sexual organs were undeveloped. 



I consider it positively proved that there is only one generation of 

 this species annually at New Brunswick, N. J. The life of an individual 

 beetle may extend from early in July of one year to well along in June of 

 the following year, and the three weeks feeding time in summer is neces- 

 sary to enable the insects to store a sufficient quantity of fatty tissue to 

 help them through the nine months of lethargy. The feeding in early- 

 spring is again necessary to mature the sexual organs and develop the 

 eggs in the ovaries of the female. 



